Heard a few handy tips etc, and seen a few of the plastic hooks, but what do the STW collective recommend for safe and Lyme Disease free tick removal?

I got the plastic hooks from the VET, they work really well.

O’Tom they are called

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-a-tick/

I’ve always burnt ’em with a fag

Tj, I dont think your supposed to. plus, how can you carry a fruity-fella around on a ride with you, isnt it inpractical?

hora:

Tj, I dont think your supposed to. plus, how can you carry a gayman around on a ride with you, isnt it inpractical?

I see you went for the point of least resistance there hora.

You’re supposed to unscrew anticlockwise, count to 5 and lob into the trench full of Germans aren’t you? Or am I confusing myself?

Cheers all. I’ll take a punt on the O’Tom Tick remover…sounds more practical than taking up smoking or changing sexual orientation 😉

Where is everyone getting these ticks from?? Has biking suddenly become contagious??

Plastic Hook thing, works first time every time and quick to (think its painless to, well the cat does not cry)

just pull it out with a pair of tweezers, make sure you get the head out.

You’re supposed to unscrew anticlockwise, count to 5 and lob into the trench full of Germans aren’t you? Or am I confusing myself?

No no, think youre on the mark there.

Never had a problem with ticks myself, where do you find them?

more votes for the O’Tom thing here, carried in all our first aid kits, used at least once a week, always work – but will be trying the circle it method – looks great

Used to use tweezers and unwind, but you tend to squeeze them which is bad. Got twizzlers from pets-r-us now. Ticks have spiral mouth parts dontchknow.

They crawl on-board while you’re standing around gassing instead getting on with some cycling 😉

Where are these little buggers prone to hanging out?? Dont think i’ve come across any in Yorkshire!!!

you mean your local farmers/youth don’t burn off all the bracken and cover for you? They keep the tick numbers down around here

How do you know if you pick one up?? Symptoms??

Tick lasso
I’ve been carrying one of these in my camelbak for ages but fortunately haven’t needed to use it yet. Maybe I’ll get the chance after the Exmoor Safari this weekend!

zombification Doog

Zombification? I def wont notice if i get one then. I presume they’re prone to lower leg attacks then??

Lube them up with some petroleum Jelly 😉 you’ll thank me for it. They can’t hold on.

hello

nice to see a post like this – i have mentioned ticks a few times of late on here – me + the lady + the collie bike hound have had a shed load of ticks this year – picked up in the lakes / N wales and S wales in brecon and worst of all somerset – cheddar / Qs / and esp exmoor… up to about 15 – 20 removed so far with either a serious dissection kit or now a Tom O twister – they rock they do….

Suggest you all carry one in your med kit. I found it a great way to get the feckers off – its ace seeing their wee scrawny body stuck in the V of the tool with their legs waggling before I then kill them either by bashing the hell out of them or now ( more enlightened way ) by bagging them up and dating the bag and then in the freezer in case you need to get the tick tested…

be safe out there

paul

I think i need someone to post a pic of an attacking tick!!! I fear i’m becoming paranoid about them!!! I may never ride again.

I think i need someone to post a pic of an attacking tick!!! I fear i’m becoming paranoid about them!!! I may never ride again.

A Tick that attacked my belly button last summer!!!

Nice, i consider myself armed with knowledge. Woe betide the crawly little **** that tries dining on me, tho i’ve not heard tell of any attacking in the calderdale area, border patrol must be doing its job.

Petrolium jelly – stops them breathing and they’ll crawl out on their own.
Has worked for me many times. And sometimes to get ticks out too!

I am a little confused about the OP. You said something like “Lyme Disease free tick removal”. How do you know they are free of disease? Or do you think that if you remove them in a certain way you will not be infected?

From what I understand once bitten by an infected tick (and there are an increasing number unfortunately) then medication should be taken once symptoms are spotted, and these do not always show themselves!

Forgot to say that the method you use to remove them only reduces the risk of secondary infection around the bite wound.

“bagging them up and dating the bag and then in the freezer”

Oooh I’ve never kept them, should I? My GF might object to keeping bags of dead ticks in the freezer.

Someone put a really informative thread up on the old forum about this topic.

Lymes Disease symptoms are widely described on the Internet. You might get a dull red ring around the bite area that might expand before fading. You might develop mild flu-like symptoms after a couple of weeks. Long-term symptoms include death.

On the plus side, it’s hard to get accurate figures about the infection rate from bites, but it seems only a fraction of ticks are carriers and only a fraction of those transmit it.

Transmission is thought to most likely if it spews it’s guts up during removal, or if it’s abdomen is full expanded with your blood and it blows-back. Removing the tick without overly stressing it is reckoned to be the best way of avoiding disease transmission.

That’s why the twizzlers are thought to be good, because they slot over the thorax and quickly unwind the mouth-part without putting pressure on the abdomen or overly stressing the critter.

buzz-lightyear – Member

Lymes Disease symptoms are widely described on the Internet. You might get a dull red ring around the bite area that might expand before fading. You might develop mild flu-like symptoms after a couple of weeks. Long-term symptoms include death.

Long term as in 60 years or so, I hope?

Strangely enough I posted on this thread yesterday having completely forgotten that I picked a tick off myself last week, probably only the 3rd or 4th I’ve ever had.

fauxbyfour – Member

I am a little confused about the OP. You said something like “Lyme Disease free tick removal”. How do you know they are free of disease? Or do you think that if you remove them in a certain way you will not be infected?

From what I understand once bitten by an infected tick (and there are an increasing number unfortunately) then medication should be taken once symptoms are spotted, and these do not always show themselves!

My understanding is that the special ingredient is carried within the ticks stomach and that incorrect removal can result in the little bugger regurgitating the stomachs contents into the bite. Safe removal is supposed to lessen the risk of this.

Oh – and the UK Govt has just responded to an epetition to say that all the current clinical guidelines and procedures are just fine, thanks.

Off to Exmoor next w/e and it’s a tick hotspot so have purchased some of those O’Tom hooks.

Got mine from here -> http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/shop/index.htm

£4.99 posted.

I had one on my left testical a couple of years ago – it was drivin me nuts…

true story

A mate of mine had one on his eyelid!

Bump for linky

Lyme Disease – everything you wanted to know (and stuff you wish you didn’t)

Use 1 lighter + 1 needle and burn the f@cker off 🙂 just careful you dont burn the skin…might hurt…or a fag end but yeah…pain

“DO NOT try to burn the tick off, apply petroleum jelly, nail polish or any other chemical. Any of these methods can cause discomfort to the tick, resulting in regurgitation, or saliva release.”

Thanks for keeping this subject ongoing. I have Lyme Disease, following a hol in the Lake District in 2004. I had no idea about ticks at the time, didn’t get the tell-tale rash but did get all the classic symptoms (started with foot-drop – remember that if you ever hear of anyone with that problem!)

I wasn’t diagnosed till 3 years later, have had 2 years of treatment and still haven’t got rid of it. I’m one of the very lucky ones not debilitated by it, thankfully, but I do have some problems and I don’t know what the long term prognosis is. I wish I’d been knowledgeable at the time and, even more importantly, because they’re the people you trust with your health, I wish the so-called specialists had had a clue.

I agree with the advice about not buring them off. My post was meant in jest – altho it is the method I have used but I haven’t had any ticks since I learnt that it is not a recommended method